As student enrollment drops across the nation, school closures have already occurred in Utah districts such as Granite, Salt Lake, Alpine and Ogden. Now, Canyons School District is evaluating its own schools through a boundary and enrollment study.

The study aims to respond to shifting populations from new housing developments and declining birth rates. Its goal: better serve students while managing resources efficiently. Options under consideration include redrawing boundaries, consolidating schools or closing them. The last boundary change was in 2017.

Currently in a fact-finding phase, the study is being led by a subcommittee of the Long-Range Planning Committee. The subcommittee is expected to give options this fall to the Canyons Board of Education, who will make the final decision, with possible implementation as early as the 2026-27 school year.

The subcommittee, which began meeting in May, initially reviewed 10 elementary schools. Two — Copperview and Sprucewood — were quickly ruled out, according to board member Karen Pedersen, who serves on the subcommittee alongside board members Katie Dahle and Amber Shill.

The remaining eight schools under review are: Bella Vista (Cottonwood Heights), Brookwood, East Sandy, Granite, Oakdale, Park Lane, Quail Hollow and Willow Canyon (all in Sandy). No middle or high schools are included in this study.

Factors being evaluated include enrollment trends, building age and condition and capacity, as well as the current programs or special units such as dual language immersion, accelerated studies or special education. 

“We notified every school on the list and on their boundaries because if we do change a boundary, it may affect them,” Pedersen said. “It doesn't mean we're going to do that — it just means all options are open. We’re wanting to straighten up all the little pockets we have so boundaries are more logical, and people will know if you go to this elementary, then you're supposed to go to that middle school and high school. That doesn't mean the parents won't have choice, because we are firm believers that parents have choice, they will be able to permit (petition to enroll at a non-boundary school, if space is available), no matter what this process does to whatever school they live near.”

Pedersen said if new boundaries are made, they will be thoughtful, considering natural boundaries and major streets are easy dividing places. She also said the subcommittee doesn’t want to split neighborhoods.

“We don’t want to pull students from one elementary to another and it then result in pulling students from a high school or middle school feeder,” she said. “We don’t want to have a domino effect. This is hard; we get that. We’re being transparent through this process and listening to what people say.”

The district wants schools to operate efficiently, aiming for around 550 students per school, with four classes per grade. 

However, that’s not the current reality: Bella Vista had 219 students last year and is projected to shrink further. Still, it ranks highest in facility condition. Quail Hollow has the most students (366), while East Sandy and Oakdale are in greatest need of facility upgrades.

“Almost every building we're looking at right now are 50 years old, and some have had some remodel work or updating. But around 50 plus years old, they take a lot of money to maintain,” Pedersen said.

According to the Canyons School District website, it costs roughly $1.2 million annually to run an elementary school, depending on staffing.

“To run the building for 200 kids costs the same as it does to run it for 400,” Pedersen said, who taught elementary school for 41 years. “If we keep it open, we're stretching resources. In some schools we're down to only one teacher per grade. That's hard on kids and parents. It's easier when you have a team; it’s better-quality teaching.”

Many of the schools under review are clustered in established Sandy neighborhoods where high housing costs and aging populations contribute to low enrollment.

“We need to take that in consideration. At some point, some older people who are staying in their homes and don’t have children in schools will move and families will come and it will turn over. We know this will change the look of the neighborhood,” Pedersen said.

According to “Education Week,” declining enrollment nationwide has been anticipated since 2012 and the pandemic — along with the end of COVID-19 relief funds — has forced districts to confront difficult decisions sooner than expected.

Park Lane Elementary, one of the schools being studied, is part of a cluster of six schools with falling enrollment. Principal Justin Jeffery said the school once had fewer students than nearby schools, but now it has more.

“I've been here at least 10 years. Park Lane now has more students than Granite and Willow Canyon because they both shrunk faster than my school has shrunk,” Jeffery said. “My students walk; they’re neighborhood kids, with the only exception being a bus for our special ed students.”

That’s not the same for every school. But new state rules now require elementary students to live at least two miles from school to receive bus service, which also factors into decisions.

Nearby Ridgecrest Elementary was alerted about possible boundary changes. 

“The writing has been on the wall for a while with declining enrollment at schools around us,” Sara Allen said, principal of Ridgecrest which neighbors Bella Vista and Oakdale. “We know it could impact us in some way. The Ridgecrest community trusts the decisions being made to take care of people and being smart with the money we have to serve students the best we can.”

Pedersen said the state legislature audits districts for financial efficiency.

“We don’t know when they’re coming, but we want to use our money efficiently and the best for our students,” she said.

The impact of charter and private schools is also part of the analysis. Park Lane is near Beehive Academy, Waterford School and Grace Lutheran. 

“At one point, eight of our students went to Beehive, but all eight of them came back,” Jeffery said. “I think a few opted to go there for middle school.”

Pedersen said student outcomes are central to any decision.

“When we combined (two lower-enrolled elementary schools) Bell View and Edgemont (into Glacier Hills in fall 2022), the result has been greater student progress and better test scores,” she said.

Pedersen said, according to district policy, if schools are combined or closed, affected teachers and principals will be placed elsewhere within the district and the district will work with other personnel who are displaced.

Parents and community members can provide input at canyonsdistrict.org/boundary-proposal/feedback/ and are invited to attend Canyons Board of Education meetings and public hearings, once scheduled.

“I know nobody wants their schools closed down, never,” said Canyons Business Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Leon Wilcox, who sits on the committee. “I get it, and we get it. Every time I presented this (to the Board), we really wished we weren't in this position.”